Quinn's Grip On Council Begins to Slip

Christine Quinn's Control Over New York City's Legislative Branch Faces New Challenges

ENLARGE

Christine Quinn in April
Patrick McMullan

By

Michael Howard Saul

April 30, 2013 9:12 p.m. ET

Christine Quinn's control over New York City's legislative branch is facing unprecedented challenges as emboldened City Council members sense political opportunity in the speaker's quest to be mayor.

For more than a year, Ms. Quinn has blocked a vote on a resolution that calls on the state to allow houses of worship access to school property. But when the bill's chief sponsor, Council Member Fernando Cabrera, threatened this week to force a vote on the measure, he said her staff promised one this month.

Ms. Quinn has also bottled up a bill that would make taxis more accessible to disabled passengers, prompting the bill's sponsor, Council Member Oliver Koppell, to invoke a legislative maneuver known as sponsor's privilege to force a vote this month at the committee level.

A week ago, Ms. Quinn surprised many on the council when she said she would permit a vote on a bill on police profiling, even though she opposes it.

"There is an increasing level of frustration with the dominance of the speaker," Mr. Koppell, another Bronx Democrat, said. "In addition, she's a lame duck. She's only going to be the speaker for another eight months. So, there's a limited amount of retribution that she can wreak."

In recent weeks, several council members said they had detected a shift in the environment at the council, which Ms. Quinn has led since January 2006. The change stems from what one council member called a "perfect storm" of factors: Ms. Quinn's tenure is coming to a close, and she has only one budget left to oversee; her need to appeal to liberals as she campaigns for mayor; the heavier media scrutiny on her and any punishment she might impose on a member; and the heightened motivation from term-limited council members to pass legislation before they step down.

"There's very little she can say now to stop other bills from coming to the floor," said Council Member Peter Vallone Jr., a Queens Democrat, who is considering pushing three bills to the floor. "These next months will be unlike anything that has come before."

Ms. Quinn and her aides dismissed any notion that her tight control of the council had weakened. An aide pointed out that Ms. Quinn, shortly after becoming speaker, backed a measure that made it easier for council members to force bills to the floor, over the speaker's objection. A so-called motion to discharge now requires the signatures of seven members, whereas before it needed nine.

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"My job as speaker is and has always been to listen to members about the kind of legislation they want to have passed to help the city of New York, and when I think that's a good idea to move it forward as quickly as we can…and when it needs a little tweaking to drive towards a compromise," Ms. Quinn said. "That's what we've done over and over again."

Ms. Quinn said her goal was to get "as many pieces of good legislation passed into law as possible," but she denied that there was a growing movement to challenge her.

Despite a veto-proof majority of council members supporting a bill to require city employers to provide workers with paid sick days, Ms. Quinn had blocked the measure from coming to the floor for years. She had said she supported the bill's concept, but was concerned it would hurt the economy.

In March, as political pressure mounted and after council members threatened to submit a motion to discharge, Ms. Quinn negotiated an agreement.

And last week, when she announced she couldn't support the profiling bill, she said she would permit a vote and vowed not to pressure any council member to vote one way or the other.

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, who is running against Ms. Quinn for the Democratic mayoral nomination, said the speaker had long stood in the way of "progressive" legislation.

"Now that we are a few months from an election, voilà," he said. "It's good that democracy is making a comeback, but we shouldn't have had to wait for Speaker Quinn to decide that allowing actual voting in the council was good for her political ambitions."

Some council members are feeling a sense of urgency because its slower-paced summer work calendar and time-consuming budget hearings on the horizon.

Peter Vallone Sr., a former council speaker, said there were a few times when he allowed a vote on legislation he opposed. He praised Ms. Quinn for corralling the council under tough circumstances.

"With term limits you've made it much more difficult to reasonably control the council," Mr. Vallone said. "She's done a tremendous job under the circumstances."

Mr. Cabrera, a Bronx Democrat, said members were more willing to buck the speaker because Ms. Quinn has only one more city budget to oversee, through which she could punish members by reducing their discretionary funds.

"Council members are going to become more bold," he said. "We do need the whole democratic process to really take place."

Mr. Cabrera said he respected Ms. Quinn for allowing a vote on the religion-in-schools resolution despite her opposition. He said the vote would be this month, though Ms. Quinn's office would not confirm that. "I don't think it's an indictment for any speaker to allow a bill to come to the floor that they disagree with," he said.

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